Nicolaj Haarhøj Malle is an Assistant Professor at the University of Southern Denmark’s Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering and a member of the SDU Digital and High-Frequency Electronics group. He earned his PhD in Robotics in November 2023 with a dissertation on autonomous power-line perception and continues as a post-doctoral researcher until July 2025. Education PhD in Robotics, University of Southern Denmark (2020–2023) Post-doctoral Researcher in Aerial Robotics for Power-line Maintenance, University of Southern Denmark (2023–2025) Research Interests Malle’s work lies at the intersection of aerial robotics, power-line engineering, and embedded intelligence. He develops fully autonomous drones capable of landing on live overhead cables to recharge, inspect, and maintain critical infrastructure. His research integrates mm-wave radar sensing , computer vision , FPGA-accelerated perception , and machine learning to achieve robust navigation in GPS-denied, high-voltage environments. He also pioneers open-source hardware-software architectures for rapid prototyping of safety-critical drone swarms. Scientific Awards & Recognition Although no formal awards are listed, Malle’s work has received extensive national press coverage, including features in Information , DR Forskerfesten PhD Cup , and international tech media highlighting his “vampire drone” concept. Grants & Projects EU H2020 Drones4Safety (2020-2023) – PhD student participant EU H2020 Aerial Core (2019-2023) – PhD student participant InnoExplorer AIR-Ops (2023-2024) – Project participant Spin-outs Denmark OnGrid Aerial Systems (2024-2025) – Project participant Laboratories & Collaborations Malle collaborates closely with the SDU UAS Center and conducts experimental flights at dedicated drone test sites. He maintains an international network via visiting research stays (University of Zürich, Oct–Dec 2022) and active IEEE membership.
